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to touch

to touch

15 5.5
To add a small amount of color to something
  • verb
  • /tʌtʃ/
: retocar
  • I need to go into town and find a place to get my highlights touched up.

So yeah, I'm just touching up my lip now.

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Examples

  • "I can touch this one up," she said, touching the name the way Rose did.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Laura, can you just touch up her lipstick?

  • So let me just add a touch so you can see here.

  • So I'm also going to add a touch here as well.

  • And then I literally just barely touch it to the skin.

  • I was just gonna touch up my makeup.

  • I'm adding just like a final touch of the darkest red.

  • I'm just going to add a touch more and it looks very seamless.

  • I'm going to touch some of that on my cheeks.

  • She decided to add a touch of pink to her cheeks for a fresh look.

Synonyms

to color
vsto touch
  • US
75 1.0

To make something a different shade by painting or dyeing

means adding only a very small amount rather than a full change of hue
to touch up
vsto touch
26 3.8

Make small changes to something to improve how it looks

is specifically about adding a small amount of color not general fixes
to tinge
vsto touch
19 4.8

To add a small amount of color or feeling to something

is limited to adding only a small amount of color
to shade
vsto touch
8 3.9

To change something a little to make it less strong

focuses on a single small color addition rather than a gradual shift
to tint
vsto touch
6 3.6

To add a small amount of color to something

describes very light coloring rather than strong recoloring
to tone
vsto touch
3 4.9

To change the color or shade of something

emphasises setting an overall shade rather than a tiny color spot
to tinct
vsto touch
  • Archaic
1 9.9

To give something a very light color

is the common small color action rather than a rare term
to handcolor
vsto touch
  • Archaic
1 8.1

To add color to a black and white photo or print by hand

is about adding small color without specifying manual method

Antonyms

30 3.2

To make something lighter in color, often using chemicals or sunlight

Idioms

92 4.9

Not aware of recent events or people's feelings

75 2.3

A small amount of something added to improve or change it

26 3.0

A small extra detail that makes something look or feel better

to touch a nerve
  • Informal
11 7.7

Make someone feel upset or defensive by mentioning a sensitive subject

No longer have the skill you once had to do something well

Midas touch
  • Informal
5 8.1

A special ability to make money or do well in many things

Make someone feel strong emotion or sympathy

to touch a chord
  • Informal
2 5.8

To make a person feel a strong emotion

2 6.1

A natural ability to do something well

1 9.3

To tell viewers or listeners to keep watching and not change the channel during a break in the show

1 8.3

You say it to try to stop bad luck after saying something good

1 9.1

Tell someone not to change the radio or television channel before a show returns

Ask an important person for help or a blessing

To become less good at something you used to do well

Refuse to be involved with people or things that seem dangerous and dishonest

A rude slang way to say someone shows small signs of autism and may offend people

Phrasal Verbs

194 2.3

Contact someone after not talking for a while

Continue to talk or write to someone after you move away

77 3.4

To mention something briefly without giving details

49 3.6

To land on the ground after a flight

26 3.8

Make small changes to something to improve how it looks

21 4.0

To affect something or someone, often slightly

18 3.5

To make brief contact to give or get an update

16 7.4

Make an event or strong reaction start suddenly

to touch oneself
  • Offensive
1 9.8

To touch your own private parts for sexual pleasure

1 9.9

To touch your own sexual parts to feel pleasure at night

To put a plan aside and often leave it without action

8.4

To take a break from online life and spend time outside in nature

Compounds

A last small detail that makes something look or feel complete

27 2.7

A screen you touch to control a phone or tablet

touch-and-go
  • Informal
20 7.2

A situation that is dangerous or uncertain until the last moment

13 3.9

A small repair to make something look better

11 3.9

A gentle, brief contact made with little force

9 3.2

A version of American football where players touch the player with the ball to stop them instead of tackling

9 3.7

A gentle way of touching or handling people and objects

A small amount of care that makes something special

The ability to feel things through the skin

A small extra detail that makes something feel nicer

3 4.6

A way of connecting with ordinary people that makes them feel understood

golden touch
  • Informal
2 5.2

A skill for making projects succeed easily

bad touch
  • Offensive
2 9.0

Unwanted physical contact that makes someone feel scared or uncomfortable

1 3.6

A way to use all fingers on a keyboard without looking at it

two touch
  • Jargon
1 6.2

A football exercise where each player may touch the ball only twice before passing

1 4.1

Used for small repairs that make something look better

1 4.6

A form of football where another player stops someone by touching them with both hands

1 5.4

A person who uses a keyboard without looking at the keys

touch-me-not
  • Specialized
1 8.6

A plant with seed pods that burst when you touch them and release seeds

soft touch
  • Offensive
1 7.0

A person who easily agrees and can be taken advantage of

A small detail that makes something look beautiful and special

touch sensation
  • Specialized
1 3.9

A feeling on the skin when something presses or rests on it

1 9.8

A tendency to make everything a person touches fail

touch perception
  • Specialized
1 4.5

Ability to feel pressure, heat, or pain on the skin

1 3.7

To type by pressing keys without looking, using trained finger positions

A small detail that makes something look brighter and happier

game of two touch
  • Australian
8.4

Touch football where another player touches someone twice to tackle them

touch modality
  • Specialized
7.0

The sense that lets you feel objects through physical contact

touch-me-not
  • Specialized
9.5

A plant with leaves that fold together when you touch them

5.5

A practice where soccer players control and pass the ball using two touches

How Tinted

to dye
83 2.2
to paint
498 1.0
to tint
6 3.6
to touch
15 5.5
to tinge
19 4.8

Surface Forms

touch infinitive
touched past
touched past participle
touching present participle
touches third person singular

Etymology

Touch comes from the old French toucher, meaning 'to make contact', and by extension it came to mean adding a small amount, which is why we say a color or blush 'touched' something when it gives just a little change.